given a choice …
“May I help you?”
This last came from the Pervect behind the front desk. It
might read polite, but the tone of his voice was that of one
addressing someone who just walked through the front door
with a box of garbage.
“Yes,” I said, deciding to give pleasant one last try.
“I’d like a room, please. A single.”
The desk clerk looked as if I had just spat on the floor.
“Do you have reservations?”
The question surprised me a little, but I decided to stick
with honesty.
“Well, I’m not wild about the neighborhood . . . and
then there’s the rumor about the ax murderer …”
“Skeeve . . . SKEEVE!!” Kalvin hissed desperately.
“He means, ‘Do you have a reservation for a room?”
So much for honesty. I shot a look at the desk clerk, who
was staring at me as if I had asked him to sell his first-bom
into slavery.
“… But, um, if you’re asking if I reserved a room in
advance, the answer is no,” I finished lamely.
The clerk stared at me for a few more moments, then ran
a practiced finger down a list on the desk in front of him.
MYTH-NOMERS AND IM-PERVECTIONS 55
“I’m afraid that all we have available at this time is one
of our Economy Rooms. You really should reserve in ad-
vance for the best selection.”
“An Economy Room will be fine,” I assured him. “I’ll
need it for about a week.”
“Very well,” the clerk nodded, pushing a form at me
across the desk, “If you’ll just fill this out, the rate will be
a hundred in gold.”
I was glad I had been warned about prices on Perv. A
hundred in gold seemed a bit steep to me, but having been